Is This Steven Spielberg Confirming Indiana Jones 5?

image

In news that will cause excitement for some and trepidation for others, Steven Spielberg has said that a fifth movie in the Indiana Jones series could well be on the cards.

The movie legend made the remark in passing, while comparing the number of times he’s worked with both Tom Hanks and Harrison Ford, while speaking to Yahoo Movies in the US about his latest movie ‘Bridge of Spies’, which stars Hanks alongside British actor Mark Rylance.

“We’ve gotta figure this out because now,” Spielberg said.

“Tom is tied with Harrison Ford: Harrison and I did four movies, Tom and I have done four movies. Now I’ll probably do an Indy 5 with Harrison. It’ll be five for Harrison, four for Tom.

“[Then] I’ve got to make another one with Tom, so that will be five for Tom, five for Harrison. And I think I’m going to leapfrog that way for the rest of my career. With Daniel Day-Lewis in everything else!”

An offhand remark? Possibly, but there’s more to it than that.

image

There’s been much discussion about giving 73-year-old Ford one last crack of the bullwhip since 2008’s 'Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’.

And rumours emerged earlier this year surrounding the possibility of Chris Pratt figuring in future plans for the franchise, whether that be a takeover of the role, or in this case, a new movie featuring two leading men.

George Lucas has also hinted at the possibility of a fifth movie too, awaiting a 'macguffin’, the key plot point that will bring the story together.

Meanwhile, Kathleen Kennedy, now head of Lucasfilm since its sale to Disney, appeared to confirm plans to work on a sequel in May this year.

Speaking to Vanity Fair, she said that another Indy movie 'will one day be made inside this company. When it will happen, I’m not quite sure. We haven’t started working on a script yet, but we are talking about it’.

'Crystal Skull’, though far from a fan favourite, still did very decent business at the box office, making $786.6 million (£511 million).

image

However, legacy-wise, all it really has to its name is 'nuking the fridge’, the moment when the franchise appeared to have 'jumped the shark’ (meaning something has finally lost its credibility, a notion popularised when The Fonz jumped over a shark on waterskis in 'Happy Days’.)

It refers to the scene in which Indy improbably survives an atomic blast by shutting himself into a small fridge.

Spielberg has since said of the scene (and its accompanying phrase): “Blame me. Don’t blame George. That was my silly idea … I’m proud of that. I’m glad I was able to bring that into popular culture.”

Read more
- Bryan Cranston wants to play a Marvel villain
- Actors go on ‘hunger strike’ for last British Guantanamo prisoner
- Mark Ruffalo’s amazing disguise for Comic Con

Image credits: Lucasfilm